


Corruption & Salvation

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Genre: Community: 1-million-words, Corruption, Gen, Quests, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-05 14:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13389633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: Luke sets out on a quest to save his nephew





	1. Hope

**Author's Note:**

> For the 1MW long form (1k+) challenge.
> 
> So after watching the [eighty million times](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzO3DCW4LXw) Mark Hamil said that Luke was so optimistic and would never get so down as to say all the Jedi had to end, I was like, hrm, how to fix? The first thing I thought of? Locket horcrux!

Luke sighed and returned to his ship. He had come to Chandrila to tell Leia what had happened in person. To say she was surprised and devastated was an understatement. But she had also lived through the worst of the Empire, and had personally faced down Darth Vader. She knew for herself just how badly the Dark Side could corrupt.

And corrupt had to be the right word. Neither one could believe that Ben had just decided to turn to the dark on his own. Their Ben could not be filled with so much darkness at such a young age unless someone or something was corrupting him.

Obi Wan had explained that the Dark Side worked in pairs; a master and an apprentice, until the later eventually became the new master and took on a new apprentice. That was the way it had been done for centuries. But both Vader and the Emperor had been killed! There was no master or apprentice to continue the chain! So who had begun to corrupt young Ben? Had a new Sith master somehow emerged from the wreckage of the Empire?

Luke wasn’t sure how such a thing was possible, but he was determined to find out. And once he did, he would be able to break that monster’s hold on his nephew.

Obi Wan had mentioned something about an ancient Jedi planet that held all the teachings of the Jedi order. It was possible that some Jedi even still resided there. Obi Wan was unsure, as no one he knew had ever visited the planet; his own master Qui Gon had believed it to be a myth. Yoda didn’t know much more, only offered a suggestion that Luke should begin his search on Coruscant.

So, with another heavy sigh, he left Chandrila and Leia behind. Not to go immediately find Ben and bring him back, but to try to find a way to save him when he was found. A beep from behind Luke indicated that his ever faithful R2 was ready to go. After resting his hand on the droid’s dome for a moment, Luke squared his shoulders and strode up the ramp. He would succeed. He had to. Ben was counting on him.

oOo

Three long years later, and Luke was dreading visiting Leia. The New Republic had been infested by some crazy political order and she had retreated to Hosnian. Every time they talked, she asked if Luke had found Ben yet. Every time, he promised that he was getting closer. Every time Luke lied to his sister.

But now, he had a small ray of hope. He had found a text in the ruins on Ossus with a reference to the Jedi planet of Ahch-To. That lead him to a map with a route that lead to a possible system. It wasn’t a lot to go on, but it was the last reference that Luke could find.

On the one hand, he didn’t want this information to disappear. Especially is it was indeed the route to the lost Jedi planet. On the other hand, this new order was rumored to be ruled by a Sith Lord. Luke couldn’t risk someone getting ahead of him and destroying what he was searching for. Especially if this mysterious Sith Lord was the one who had corrupted Ben.

R2 beeped comfortingly, and Luke was reminded of another time, another message. He could leave R2 behind to safeguard his findings, just as Leia had used the droid so many years ago.

Of course, Leia’s message had been for Obi Wan, and Luke had intercepted it by mistake. Using R2 was a good idea, but only if Luke could be sure that no one could access the information who he wouldn’t want to find it.

Perhaps it he split the map up; sent the pieces to different places. And encoded them so that only R2 could reassemble them properly! That might work!  
Much reassured to have a viable plan, Luke set about his new tasks with renewed vigor.

oOo

The planet was desolate, composed mostly of ocean with sporadic, scattered islands. Any one of which could be the fabled Jedi stronghold. Or none of which, if his information was wrong, or if the texts had been moved in the past.

There was nothing for it but for Luke to search every single island on this planet until he found some trace of the ancient Jedi.

His job would not be helped by the Dark presence he had felt since entering this system. It had grown stronger and stronger as he approached Ahch-To and now like was certain that the Dark presence was actually on Ahch-To. The strain of keeping it from overwhelming him was what was making Luke search each island on foot, instead of sensing the force on the planet. His senses were completely occluded by that mysterious presence.

It might make his search harder, but Luke preferred to hope that it meant he was right about this planet being a Jedi stronghold. Maybe they had defeated some great evil here, causing the residual he was feeling! He refused to believe that the evil had come later and destroyed what he was seeking; Luke would not give up.

Most of the islands were riddled with caves; it took Luke several days to clear each of the smaller ones. Some of the larger ones had the remains of buildings, and Luke had to examine them carefully for any trace of their former occupants. It was tedious, exacting work, but Luke didn’t give up hope. He made some interesting discoveries about the civilization that had occupied many of these islands, and many of the landscapes were very pretty.

For a man who had spent nineteen years of his life on a desert planet, exploring a planet full of oceans and islands would take a while to get old.

oOo


	2. Despair

At long last, Luke had found the first Jedi Temple! He had scouted roughly a third of the islands on Ahch-To before finding the Temple island. There he found the lanai, who had been caring for the temple for generations since the last of the Jedi had left. They sensed the power within him and recognized him as a Jedi, so he was made welcome at the temple.

Unfortunately, Luke quickly realized that Temple Island was also the source of the Dark presence he had felt. He hoped that he could ignore it while studying what he needed to of the Jedi Temple. There were, according to the lanai, great books, written by the masters of old, containing all of their wisdom. Surely, if there was a way to save Ben, which Luke believed there must be, then it would be contained within these books.

oOo

Translating the books was slow going; many were written in Kwa, the language of the old Infinite Empire. For once, Luke actually wished that C-3PO was around, as he could probably translate the entire library in days. Instead, Luke, who had managed to download a simple Kwa-to-Basic dictionary through his ship, had spent the last several months painstakingly translating the first chapters of the first book.

The contents were quite promising, so Luke refused to give up, but he was aware that the longer he took, the longer Ben was out there, corrupted by the Dark Side. It would be far faster for Luke to simply take the books and return to a civilized planet, but the lanai insisted that the books were not allowed to leave.

Luke could have easily taken the books anyway; the lanai had no sensitivity to the Force and he could overpower them in seconds. But that would be the way of the Dark Side. A Jedi did not take by force; or dominate those who were weaker than himself. No matter how much Luke wanted to find this information to save his nephew, he could not betray the Force like that.

Even the thought of taking the books away from the lanai was a result of the Dark presence on the island, Luke suspected. It was always there, beneath him, whispering in his mind. As time passed and the translation languished, the Dark presence tried to infect Luke, corrupt him just as it had corrupted Ben. But Luke would not falter. He had dragged his father back from the Dark Side, and he would not be swayed before he could do the same for Ben.

No, Luke would take his time, as much time as the Force required, to translate the ancient texts. He would have patience, and hold fast to the light side, and the universe would provide.

oOo

Five years of grueling work later, and Luke had finally finished the last of the ancient Jedi texts. Aside from the several in Kwa, there had been a few in Ithorese, one in Anx, and one in Mon Cal of all things. Luke had dutifully translated every single text, believing that one of them would hold the secret to Ben’s salvation.

Now, after five years, Luke had translated all of the texts, and none of them had contained what he needed. All of the ancient Jedi agreed that, while a Jedi could fall to the dark side, no Sith or Fallen Jedi could return completely to the light. Though they might strive to follow the path of the light, and though they might do good deeds, their souls would be irrevocably tainted with the dark.

It went against everything that Luke himself had experienced, as he had saved his father from the dark side. However, the ancient texts were quite clear, and he had checked his translation many times. Sith and fallen Jedi could be “redeemed” but never truly saved.

It was not at all what Luke wanted to read; he had staked all of his actions for the past eight years on the belief that his nephew could be saved; that the corruption in his soul could be countered. Now, Luke wasn’t sure.

As always, the dark heart of the island confirmed this, whispering in the back of Luke’s mind that he had failed Ben. Luke had struggled to ignore that insidious whispering voice for so long now, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could fight against it. Not when his own heart was feeling heavier at the thought that the ancient Jedi texts could not help him.

No! Luke refused to cave to this despair! He refused to listen to that voice, and he refused to give up on Ben.

Luke had to have made a mistake in the translation. He would double check all of them. It would be much faster now, as he had basically learned all four languages through his work. He would check the dictionaries and then reread each book carefully, searching for what he had missed before.

Of course, he could still make a mistake, and perhaps there was nothing left to find…

No! That was the voice again. Luke had to find a way to shut it out. Maybe if he found a way to block it out, he would be able to concentrate on the texts better. Maybe if he could block it out then he could think of a solution to Ben’s problem. Luke just had to find a way to block out the voice.

oOo

After another year of studying, Luke was ready to give up. He had done everything he could to help Ben.

He had researched and traced back the history of the Jedi until the beginning of time, in order to find their last refuge. He had flown across the galaxy and searched island after island to find the missing Jedi temple. He had spent years away from his family and friends, putting his life on hold and abandoning the New Republic. He had learned new languages and translated the ancient texts. He had even cut himself off from the Force itself in a bid to clear his mind.

And for what?

For confirmation that the Jedis of old did not have the same view on the Force that he did? For them to tell Luke that there was no help for Ben, despite what had happened with Anakin? For him to learn that his nephew was lost to the Dark forever?

Maybe it was for the best that he was the last Jedi.

Luke wasn’t sure if that was his thought or the island’s, but at this point, he didn’t care anymore.

If that was all that the Jedi had to offer, then Luke was done with them. He was done with the Jedi Order and the Force and the whole thing. If the dark could corrupt, then the light should be able to save. That it couldn’t was unacceptable to Luke. It that was truly the case, then Luke was glad he had cut himself off from the force.

He would just spend the rest of his life here, tucked away on Ahch-To. Luke had already ensured that no one could follow his trail and find him here. He had already said his goodbyes to Leia, Han, R2, and the rest. If there was really nothing that could be done for Ben, then there was no reason for Luke to return.

It was fitting; Ahch-To was the home of the first Jedi temple. And now it would be the final resting place of the last Jedi.


End file.
